Hardle: The Harder Five-Letter Word Game
You only get two counts per guess. Colour the tiles yourself and lock what you trust.
How to play Hardle
Guess any five-letter word to start
Try to guess the secret five-letter word. Start with any word you like, for example WATER. After you submit, two numbers appear beside the row.
Read the yellow and green counts
The yellow number is how many letters are in the word but in the wrong spot. The green number is how many are already in the right spot. The game doesn't say which tiles those counts belong to.
Colour the tiles yourself, then lock what you trust
Click a tile to colour it based on your clues. Hold a tile to lock it when you are sure, so Undo and Trash leave it alone. Keep guessing until a row shows zero yellow and five green.
Daily Word Games Challenge: Hardle gameplay
A creator plays a full round of Hardle and works out the yellow and green counts live. Watch the click-to-colour and lock controls in action before your first game. Video by GinJanner on YouTube.
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What is Hardle?
Hardle is a free five-letter word game with one big difference: it doesn't colour the tiles for you. After each guess you only see two numbers, how many letters sit in the wrong place and how many sit in the right place.
You decide which tiles deserve yellow, green or gray by clicking them. That hand-painted grid is the whole personality of the game, and it is why it calls itself the harder word puzzle.
Counts instead of automatic tile colours
Most word grids flash colours the moment you press Enter. This game withholds that shortcut. Submit WATER and you might see yellow 1 and green 2. You know three letters matter, but not which three.
That gap between information and markup is where it bites. Two players can see the same counts and still colour different theories, then prove or kill them on the next guess.
Click to colour, hold to lock
Colouring isn't decoration, it is your notebook. Tap a tile to cycle the mark that matches your current idea. When a position feels settled, hold the tile to lock it. Locked tiles are skipped by Undo and Trash, which helps when you want to wipe a messy row without losing a letter you already earned.
In the built-in tutorial, WATER turns into a mixed row with a locked green E, then POWER arrives as a clean five-green finish with 0 yellow and 5 green.
Hardle tips
- Keep the coloured marks consistent with both counts on every row.
- Change a colour when a later guess proves your theory wrong.
- Only lock a tile once a second word has confirmed it. Bad locks survive cleanup tools.
- Use each row as a probe and a note, not just a guess.
- Once the counts feel natural, a round of Wordle Unlimited will feel easy.
Hardle FAQ
What do the yellow and green numbers mean in Hardle?
After each guess, Hardle shows two counters beside the row. The yellow number is how many letters from that guess are in the secret word but in the wrong position. The green number is how many are in the correct position. They don't say which tiles.
Why do I have to colour the tiles myself in Hardle?
The game leaves the mapping work to you. Using the two counts and what you learned from earlier rows, you click tiles to mark wrong-spot letters, correct letters or letters you think are out.
What does locking a tile do in Hardle?
If you are sure about a letter position, hold the tile to lock it. A locked tile stays put when you use Undo or the Trash button on that row, so a confident green isn't wiped by cleanup tools.
How do I know I solved Hardle?
When a guess gets every letter right, the counters read zero yellow and five green. Until then, keep guessing five-letter words, updating your marks and locking only what you trust.